Category: Blog

Whether you are an individual working from home on a personal computer or a large business managing hundreds of computers for employees, securing your personal and professional data has never been more important. There are numerous scams, phishing attempts, and hackers looking to steal your private data both offline and online. If you need to upgrade your computer and you’re looking to recycle your current one, it is imperative that you securely erase your data first. Even if you believe you have erased your data, someone with the right tools and knowledge may be able to recover private information you’d rather not be seen. These programs and methods can help you make sure your data is securely erased and kept safe from prying eyes.

Use The Windows 10 Built In Utility

If you have Windows 10 installed on your computer currently, there is an easy way to reset and erase your hard drive.  Windows 10’s recovery tool can reset your PC and securely erase your hard drive at the same time. This can be a great option if you are looking to sell your PC with a hard drive in it or reuse the PC. Just go to Settings then Update & Security then Recovery. Click on Get Started under Reset this PC. Choose to remove everything, then click Next then Reset. All of your files and other information will be erased and then the computer will reinstall a fresh copy of Windows. If another person is going to use it, he or she can set up the computer from scratch as their own.

Try Disk Wipe Utility

If you would rather use a different program try Disk Wipe Utility. This free program allows you to securely wipe your hard drive from a portable USB drive. It has a simple interface that enables you to choose the level of security you want when erasing your drive. You can choose from one pass zeros, one pass random, or US Department of Defense. The more passes you choose, the more securely your hard drive will be erased.

For Non SSD Drives, Try DBAN

DBAN (Darik’s Boot and Nuke) is an easy to use program that will securely erase your hard drive. The program is completely free and available for download here. You can burn it to a CD or flash drive and boot form it. It can work with any OS including Mac. However, it cannot detect and SSD hard drive.

MHDD

Another great tool for erasing hard drives is MHDD. This free program uses Secure Erase and can work with SSD drives. There is plenty of documentation on this program to help you get started. You can quickly download this program and use it to create a bootable CD, flash drive, or even floppy disk.

There are a wide variety of both free and paid software programs available to help you securely erase your data from your hard drive. Keep in mind that deleting a file and then emptying your Recycling Bin is not a secure way to erase a file. Anyone will still be able to recover this information with a file recovery software program. Before turning over your computer to another person or recycling it, always use a trusted method to safely and securely erase your private information to keep yourself and your business safe.

In order to save money, many businesses and organizations choose to buy wholesale computer components to replace or upgrade their equipment. Some companies even build their own PCs from scratch for business use. Or maybe you are looking to buy wholesale computer parts to resell at a profit. No matter your reason for purchasing computer components in bulk, you’ll want to have a smart strategy to do so and save time and money in the process. Here are some useful tips to aide you during your wholesale computer component purchase.

Look at “Take All” Lots of Computer Parts

When buying computer components in bulk, many sellers will group similar products together in one lot. For example, if you are looking to purchase bulk hard drives, you will be more likely to come across a lot of hard drives of many different types or sizes. Usually you will find the newer or larger hard drives mixed in with older/slower or smaller ones. You may be tempted to tell the seller you only want the best parts of the list. However, most sellers will either refuse to break up the lot or will sell these specific components at a premium. You will almost always get a better deal if you take the whole lot and come up with a creative way to resell or scrap the components you do not need to either break even or make a profit. It may be a bit of extra work, but it can help maximize your profits or save your business money in the long term.

Always Compare Performance And Bench Mark Scores

If you are repairing or upgrading computers across your business, you may be tempted to buy the absolute newest components you can. However, there are many cases where the newest components available do not provide a performance upgrade that corresponds to their cost. Check performance reviews (such as benchmark scores for CPUs) and compare the component you are looking to purchase with a similar but slightly older model. You may find you will get only a small decrease in performance while saving a lot of money.

Ignore Black Friday

Black Friday deals may be good for retail, but the holiday season is often not the best time to buy computer components wholesale. The best time to buy is impossible to nail down because it varies. It can change due to your location in the world, the components you are looking at, and other factors. However, one time that is often good (in the United States at least) is May and June. This is because many computer recyclers receive new computers in from schools and universities at the end of their academic year.

Be Flexible

You may have an idea of which brand and type of component you want to buy. However, being brand or model specific can be very pricey. Instead, look for deals on similar brand, models, or types for your components. By being flexible about what items you use to upgrade your machines or choose to resell, you can score better deals.

ELEMS sells many different types of computers to our wholesale clients. Not all of our inventory is listed on our website, so if you have a specific need, please feel free to contact us at any time. If you would like to list your own wholesale computer components for sale across our platforms, we can help you with that too.

Reselling electronics, particularly laptops, is a great way to build a successful online business. Individuals, schools, and businesses alike are always looking to upgrade their tech. However, like any business, it is important to understand the pitfalls and build a good sales strategy in order to maximize profits and minimize losses. Follow these types to start creating a successful sales strategy today.

Learn Some IT Skills

As a small business owner, you may not need to know the ins and outs of how laptops work in order to sell them. However, understanding the basics of how a laptop works and how to fix a broken laptop will be very beneficial. You will be able to purchase broken laptops at a much lower rate and perform repairs. You will also know how to fix a problem if one should arise on a shipment of laptops you receive that was supposed to be fully working. Having a good grasp of your product is good for any ecommerce busienss or exporter, and even more so with electronics like laptops.

Find a Reputable Supplier

In order to build a business selling laptops, you will have to secure a stable supply of good product. Look for suppliers that have good references and strong electronics industry knowledge. A supplier like ELEMS can get your business access to a wide variety of refurbished laptops for resale. ELEMS also has experience importing and exporting laptops and other electronics, so you can take run your business internationally.

Purchase Software Licenses The Right Way

You may find that your laptops sell better with Windows installed. You may be tempted to just buy a license from someone on eBay or download one illegally. Microsoft probably won’t do anything if you just sell one or two laptops. If you start selling a large volume, however, you could find yourself embroiled in legal troubles. Luckily, Microsoft sells product licenses in bulk to small business owners. Even though it is more expensive, the added cost in the short term will save you plenty of time and money in the future if it means avoiding expensive legal troubles with a giant corporating like Microsoft.

Find Your Niche

You may be tempted to just sell any laptops you can get your hands on. But sometimes it is better to focus on a specific niche, such as a specific brand or type of laptop. Very new or high end items (think Apple laptops or nearly brand new laptops) can be difficult to get your hands on, so consider specializing in older laptops, or a brand that isn’t as popular, or any other specialized niche. You may find that you have to experiment to see which types of products work best for your business. Focusing on a niche or two niches allows you to monitor trends within that niche and understand the quirks of each individual laptop as well.

ELEMS specializes the wholesale of laptops from a wide variety of brands. If you are looking to become a laptop reseller and purchase laptop lots, contact us today.

These days anyone can start a business right from their living room.  The world of ecommerce has made starting your own business easier than ever.  In the past, an entrepreneur would have to open a brick and mortar store at a much higher cost than an online store.

However, just because anyone can set up a website or sign up for an Amazon seller’s account doesn’t mean that your new online ecommerce business will be a success.  A successful online store still requires a lot of careful research and planning in order for it to be profitable.  Here are some tips and tricks to starting your own ecommerce business.

Tip #1 Decide on a Product To Sell

Of course you need to decide what you’re selling before you sell it.  There is a wide variety of products available for bulk resale.  Some entrepreneurs may choose to cast a wide net and sell a large range of different products, while others focus on a specific niche.  Both of these strategies have their positives and negatives.  No matter what you choose to sell, you must first acquire the product at a price that allows for a profit.  Profit is the whole reason for starting a business after all!  A short term solution may be searching the bargain bins at local big box stores, but you’ll soon find this strategy will lead to a dead end as you won’t be able to find products at a cheap enough price to make your venture lucrative.  When looking to source products, look for wholesale or bulk products from a reputable supplier.  For example, your business will be much more successful if you find a reputable supplier of wholesale laptops, instead of just looking for a few laptops at a time.

Tip #2 Research Your Competition

Just as in any business, it is important for ecommerce businesses to know who their competition is and what their competition is doing.  In the ecommerce world, you must compete with businesses within a wide geographic area, sometimes even in other countries.  You should know who the leaders in the industry are as well as their common practices.  What sort of benefits and features do they include with their products or services? What pricing do they offer?  It is important to gather as much information as you can so you can make informed business decisions.

Tip #3 Decide on A Platform

In order to be profitable, you must pick the proper online platform to sell your goods.  Some common online marketplaces include Amazon, eBay, and Etsy, among others.  Many businesses also may choose to start their own websites.  The benefit of your own website is a reduction in online selling fees as well as more control over how you sell your products as well as who you sell them to.  However, the main drawback of your own website is obtaining traffic. Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are already popular and receive millions of pageviews everyday from customers looking to make purchases.  It is usually advisable to use more than one sales channel, especially as your business is just starting out.

Tip #4 Create an Advertising Strategy

Even if your products are only available on sales channels like eBay and Amazon, you still need a strategy for attracting buyers to your product listing and not someone else’s.  You can differentiate your product by having the best (read: lowest) price, but that strategy may not always work.  Attract buyers to your listings by having high quality pictures, descriptive listings with plenty of important keywords, and an attractive presentation.  You may also wish to pay for tools like eBay’s sponsored listings or paid advertising on sites like Google, Facebook, or Instagram to attract buyers to your products.

Tip #5 Create a Customer Service Strategy

Even the best companies will face problems with customers.  It is important for every online ecommerce business to have protocols in place for how they will communicate with customers and solve common problems, such as an order getting lost or damaged in the mail.  Make sure your policies are helpful and don’t just sound like meaningless platitudes.  Customers have the power to leave bad online reviews about your business that can chase away other buyers.  When a problem does arise, you should have procedures in place to deal with it effectively and with empathy for the customer.  When problems are dealt with properly, customers are more likely to return to make further purchases.

Setting up a successful online ecommerce business requires a lot of research, planning, and careful evaluation.  A good entrepreneur will know when to change strategy and tactics in order to fit in with a constantly shifting ecommerce landscape.  These tips will help you on your way to developing a successful online ecommerce business.

And of course, obtaining high quality wholesale products is one of the most important parts of any ecommerce business.  ELEMS can help you source wholesale laptops, desktops, electronics and other consumer goods for your online ecommerce business.  Let us partner with you today.

The electronics industry is a great way to make a profit while running your own business. Most people in the United States, and across the world, own multiple electronic items such as laptops, desktops, mobile phones, and more. As our work and entertainment becomes increasingly more dominated by technology, consumers need to purchase more devices (and keep their devices upgraded).

It can be intimidating to find reputable wholesale dealers to source inventory from. You will have to compete for customers’ attention with both big box retail stores as well as thousands of small businesses. By following these simple tips, you can make sure your business will be successful and profitable for years to come.

1) Find a Niche

It can be tempting when you first open an electronics retail shop (or even just an eBay store) to determine what types of electronics you want to sell. You may feel your best option is to stock a little bit of every type of device you possibly can get. This is tempting because it allows you to not have to spend the time and energy necessary to search out specific types or brands of products. However, this strategy can actually be detrimental to your business in the long term. When you work in the electronics industry, you will need to be knowledgeable about the products you sell. You may even be required to fix or upgrade computers and other electronic devices. While some knowledge is universal across brands and device types, many things that you need to know are not.

By focusing on a specific category of brand or item, you will give yourself the time and energy to become proficient in that category. You will quickly learn how the item works, what the pitfalls of selling it are, and which wholesale dealers provide the best value for your niche.

2) Avoid Popular Products

It may seem counter-intuitive to ignore (or at least not prioritize) popular products. After all, don’t you want to sell in demand products that consumers are willing to pay a lot of money for? Of course you do! The problem is…so does everyone else.

When you are first starting out with your business, you will probably not have the funds to compete with larger businesses that have more buying power for these in demand products. If a specific brand or type of electronic device is very popular, many businesses will be bidding or sending offers on the items. Of course you do not want to purchase unpopular items for resale either! Finding the exact type of item that strikes a balance between desirable enough to make money on but not so popular that there is a lot of competition can be difficult, but doing the work to discover and source this type of item will be well worth it.

3) Focus On Reputable Wholesale Dealers

This may seem obvious, but many small businesses fall for scams and tricks from disreputable companies when they are first starting to source inventory for resale. Unfortunately the electronics industry seems to attract a lot of shady sellers. Make sure you do thorough research on any wholesale dealer before purchasing products. Check to see if there have been any complaints filed against them by other small businesses. You can also ask them for references to other businesses they have worked with in the past and see what others’ experiences with this wholesale dealer have been like.

4) Negotiate Freight Shipping Rates

Many small businesses forget that even if they find a great deal on wholesale electronics for resale, they will have to ship the items to their location. Freight charges can get very expensive, very quickly. These freight charges will only add to your costs and can suck away any potential profits. Most of the time, the business buying the merchandise will be expected to pay shipping costs. Make sure you check around with many different freight providers so you can compare costs for shipping your goods. Also, make sure to check other factors such as the delivery time and reputation of the freight provider.

ELEMS LTD can help you arrange shipping and connect you with reliable freight shipping service provides to get you your merchandise quickly and safely.

5) Contact Suppliers Like ELEMS LTD Directly

Many wholesale dealers such as ELEMS LTD get new goods in constantly. If you do not see anything that interests you right now, there is an excellent chance those items will be available in the near future.

Contact us today and let us know what types of items you are looking to buy. We can then alert you when they become available, oftentimes before the inventory list even goes out to the general public.

The office’s phone system isn’t something most small business owners like to think too much about. After all, you use your business’s phone system to place and receive calls and messages, but you don’t use it for much else. It certainly doesn’t hold the almost glamorous appeal of laptops, desktops, or smart phones. As long as it’s working, there usually isn’t much need or desire to think about the office phones.

However, your office phone system is actually quite important. Even though lots of people like to discuss business over email, there are still plenty of potential clients that like to create business deals over the phone. Furthermore, customers who want to speak with a representative of your company may get frustrated if they can’t get through to someone to help with a problem.

There are many things to consider when choosing a phone system and hardware for your small business. How many employees will be using the phone system? What is your budget? How reliable is the service? What options (like call forwarding, voice mail, and menus) do you need? What kind of contract will you be required to sign? All of these questions and more must be answered before making a purchase.

8×8

8×8 is a US based VoIP provider, and they come highly recommended by many small and medium sized business owners. This company offers many features with their service including voicemail, call forwarding, unlimited calling and faxing, and more. You won’t need PBX-style hardware or a specialized IT support staff to maintain your phone system either.

Mitel

Mitel is one of the most widely-recognized service providers out there. They hoffer a wide range of services in every price range to meet your business’s phone system needs. Mitel’s call center technology allows your system to integrate with existing programs like Salesforce. Mitel also offers other features like multi-line IP phones, customer identity features, conference and video phone units, and much more.

Cisco

Cisco is one of the largest networking companies in the world. The Cisco brand is widely recognized as reliable and of high-quality. Cisco systems are perfect for people who still want to use PBX style hardware. Cisco offers many of the features small business owners need such as voicemail, messaging, voice and video calling, and many other options.

If you find that you have to upgrade your phone system, do your research and make sure you are getting a phone service that has all the features your business needs to thrive. If you decide to upgrade or change out your phone system and need to buy or sell your phone system hardware, feel free to contact us to help you save money on a purchase or maximize your profits from the sale of your hardware.

The market for pre-owned computers and technology equipment is growing, and it is expected to continue growing through 2025 and beyond. Fast-evolving technology is making computers incredibly affordable, buy many people are saving even more money bypassing new computers for used ones that still have plenty of life left in them. This is creating a great opportunity for small business owners who may want to buy and sell used computers in bulk.

However, buying wholesale used computers isn’t always easy. This business endeavor requires a large amount of money, time, and effort to be successful. There are a lot of scammers all over the world just waiting to prey upon inexperienced small business owners looking for new wholesale technology suppliers. Here are some simple tips you can use to make sure you are getting a fair deal on used technology equipment.

Verify The Supplier’s Reputation Before Buying Used Computers

In order to effectively buy used bulk computers for resale, you will have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars at a time. You will definitely want to verify the supplier’s reputation before sending them your hard-earned money. A simple Google search is a good place to start. Other buyers will often post scammers’ information on forums and websites dedicated to wholesale buying and selling. You can also check places like the Better Business Bureau for complaints against the supplier.

In addition to verifying the company, ask for the name(s) of the CEO and other relevant people in the business. You will want to verify them as well because sometimes scammers can hide behind their business name.

Ask For References

Many times, verifying the company via Google and the BBB just isn’t enough to be safe. Ask the supplier for the names and contact information of other companies that have bought from them in the past six months. You can call these companies directly and speak with them about their experiences with your prospective supplier. Ask them what the buying process was like, how easy the supplier was to work with, and the quality of the goods supplied.

Avoid Membership Fees When Buying Refurbished Technology Equipment

A very common scam in the wholesale world is to ask prospective buyers to pay a membership fee to join a site or receive information about what goods they have for sale. A legitimate wholesale supplier will not charge you to do business with you. They want your business and won’t charge you anything except the cost of the goods.

Always use common sense when dealing with a new wholesale computer supplier. If the prices and products are too good to be true, they probably aren’t! If the supplier is a poor communicator, dodges reasonable questions, or refuses to offer references they are probably a scammer.

Buying wholesale computers, laptops, and other technology equipment in bulk can be risky, but if you practice common sense buying and selling computers in bulk can be a great business venture that has lots of potential for the future.